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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26850790">Cara Mia</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunalikespace/pseuds/lunalikespace'>lunalikespace</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Don't Say Goodbye (ChellDOS) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Portal (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Pet Names, theyre all androids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:40:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,709</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26850790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunalikespace/pseuds/lunalikespace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>GLaDOS calls Chell a cute petname in a language she doesn't understand. Chell is determined to figure out what it means, with a little help of course.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chell/GLaDOS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Don't Say Goodbye (ChellDOS) [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cara Mia</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As the evening drew to a close, all other distractions were pushed away as GLaDOS and Chell made time for each other. It became an easy routine that the pair slipped into. No matter what they did during the day, GLaDOS would stop by Chell’s living quarters and tuck her in for the night. Tonight was no different. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell found herself snuggling up to the heat that GLaDOS’s android body emitted. Her arm was wrapped around Chell, holding her close, and Chell smiled warmly into the embrace. She cherished moments like this, when all distractions were dropped and nothing else mattered. Though, as much as Chell loved it, she felt herself growing tired. Her eyes were fluttering closed even though she tried desperately to keep them open. -</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS glanced at her. “Tired?” She asked in a hushed voice. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell nodded. “Don’t go,” She said, tightening her grip on her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS smiled, a genuine smile. It was sweet, and Chell knew she was incredibly lucky to see GLaDOS so vulnerable like this. “I won't leave, cara mia.” She whispered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell opened her eyes and looked over at her in the darkness. “Hm? She asked, confused. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS smirked. “Nothing, nothing, go sleep, cara mia bella,” GLaDOS murmured again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell would’ve demanded to know what that meant if she wasn’t so tired, so she simply let the comforting feeling of GLaDOS’s fingers running through her hair and her artificial heartbeat drift her away into a heavy slumber. </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Chell awoke from her sleep, she replayed the events of the previous night in her head. She still had no idea what those words meant. They were definitely foreign. Nonetheless, she was determined to find out. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell pulled herself out of bed. She got dressed and went off to find GLaDOS. She was usually running tests on the co-op bots and would spend most of the day in her office. With GLaDOS being so busy, Chell would often find something to do solo in the facility, or would spend time with the cores. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS wasn’t in her office, or in the library, and she wasn’t back in her mounted form either, because Chell checked that too. GLaDOS wasn’t found there very often, she preferred the mobility that legs offered. Chell had just about given up on trying to find her when she wandered into the kitchen. There was GLaDOS, cooking up something on the stove. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, I've been looking all over for you.” Chell mumbled. She came up from behind GLaDOS and wrapped her arms around her small frame. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well clearly you weren’t looking in the right place.” GLaDOS said, snarkily. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatcha doing in here anyways?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS stirred whatever was in the pot. “Doing some cooking since </span>
  <em>
    <span>somebody</span>
  </em>
  <span> needs food to live.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell chuckled. “What is it?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS shrugged. “Some sort of stew.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell nodded. She sat down at the kitchen island. GLaDOS finished up her creation and served Chell a bowl. Surprisingly, it tasted amazing. She wasn’t always the best chef, but when she really tried, GLaDOS’s food was pretty good. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS sat with Chell while she ate, though she didn’t require food herself. Chell could tell she was multitasking, probably juggling several different tasks form her wireless connection to the facilities mainframe. She was focused, looking just past Chell, eyebrows furrowed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“GLaDOS?” Chell asked, gently getting her attention. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS shook her head a little, and met Chell’s eyes. “Yes?” She asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What,” Chell began nervously, “What were those things you said last night?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS’s mechanical face flushed several shades darker and Chell could've sworn she heard her internal fan kick on to bring her temperature down. “Nothing, why?” She asked, trying to act nonchalant.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Because I want to know. ’ll find out one way or another,” Chell said, between bites. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS rolled her eyes, “Mhm. Alright, I should go get Blue and Orange started, so i’ll see you later,” She paused, “cara mia.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell groaned, “What does that mean?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS just smirked, before placing a quick peck on her cheek. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If she wasn’t already before, Chell was now determined to figure out what that meant. But she knew she would need to acquire some help to do so. She finished up her meal and left to seek out the cores. </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take Chell long to find half of the cores. The Adventure Core, or Rick, and Wheatley were huddled against a wall, both of them peering around it. Wheatley had a look of terror on his face, as per usual, and Rick had a gleam of excitement in his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell met their gazes as she continued down the hallway. “What’s going on?” Chell asked as she neared the opening. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Both Rick and Wheatley shushed her, and Chell stopped in her tracks, silencing, and held her hands up in defense. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rick tip-toed towards the table, and Chell could see that the hallway opened up into a room that scientists would’ve used. Up in the management rails was some sort of bird nest, with a bird perched in it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell rolled her eyes, already seeing where this was going. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rick continued slowly until he was below the nest. He swiftly jumped up onto the desk and lunged at the bird only for it to fly away in alarm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rick sighed. “Damn, we'll get ‘em next time,” He declared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve been at this for </span>
  <em>
    <span>days</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Wheatley groaned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you seriously trying to catch a bird?” Chell asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh not just any bird, </span>
  <em>
    <span>the </span>
  </em>
  <span>bird.” Wheatley said, in all seriousness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"That bird has been terrorizing us for </span>
  <em>
    <span>ages</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Rick huffed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Legend says it was the same bird that attacked me when I was scheming to help you escape. And the same bird that pecked at potato GLaDOS." Wheatley continued on. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"You made up that legend." Rick said, rolling his eyes.   </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell snorted. “Word of advice, probably not gonna catch it with your bare hands. Maybe a net? I dunno. Not my point,” Chell started, shaking her head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what brings you here anyways?” Wheatley asked, curiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell fumbled with the jumpsuit top tied around her waist. She tugged on the knot with anxiety. Suddenly this whole idea felt stupid. Like they would know what obscure foreign words meant. “I… I was going to ask for help to figure out some foreign phrase, but…” Chell trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Wheatley stared back at her, dumbfounded. Rick thought for a moment. “Well, i'm not very good with all of those </span>
  <em>
    <span>book smarts</span>
  </em>
  <span> but I think I know just the guy who can help you.” He affirmed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell sighed with relief and they began their short journey to the library. </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trio reached the library soon enough. It was a short distance, making a loop around the facility. Wheatley opened the door up to find Fact sitting in a chair, reading something. Meanwhile, Space was sprawled out on the floor, with different astronomy maps lined out around him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact looked up at them, eyebrows raised. “What do you want?” He asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rick strutted over to him. “The lady needs your help with something, Pinky,” He teased, running his hands through Facts hair and purposely messing it up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact grunted, fixed his appearance, and laid his gaze back on Chell. “What is it that you need?” He asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell glanced at the floor, suddenly having second thoughts. It would be weird to ask them, wouldn’t it? Anxiety bubbled in her chest. “I...uh…I wanted to ask you to translate something,” Chell inquired. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact nodded, putting his book aside. “Like a phrase?” He asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, yeah. I think it’s a nickname or something,” Chell said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact nodded. “Do you know what language?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, I’m not really sure to be honest. She didn’t say what language specifically.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She?” Wheatley asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell flushed, “GLaDOS” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact was already searching through a shelf. He pulled out a book, blew off the dust, and set it on the desk. The group</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>minus Space who was still distracted with his maps</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>sat around the table. Chell sat across from Fact, who started flipping through the pages. Adventure sat next to him, looking very disinterested. Wheatley sat beside Chell, awkwardly fiddling with his thumbs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact cleared his throat. “So, what's the phrase you want translated?” She asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell cleared her throat. “Um, I’m pretty sure it was...um… cara mia,” Chell said. She hoped it wasn’t something extreme. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact flipped through some more pages. He glanced at Chell, grinning sheepishly. “What GLaDOS is saying, roughly translates to ‘my dear.’” He said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rick wolf-whistled which made Wheatley and Fact laugh, and Chell turn red. “O-oh,” She stammered. “Thanks,” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fact nodded. “It was no problem. In all honestly it was pretty easy,” He said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell nodded, and excused herself from the group. They all wished her the best of luck with GLaDOS. </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chell wandered back through the facility, all the way to GLaDOS’s office</span>
  <span>—an area she reserved for all her work related duties—where she found her, hunched over one of the many monitors. She was observing Atlas and Pbody solving a test chamber, and failing miserably. She massaged her temples in annoyance and groaned under her breath. Chell chuckled softly, pressed against the doorframe waiting for them to finish. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell figured out the solution in mere seconds, but waited painted for the two bots to complete the puzzle. As they approached the elevators, GLaDOS effectively ended the day’s testing by saying , “Franky, that was a trainwreck, and I want the two of you out of my sight.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell suppressed a laugh as she walked over to GLaDOS, wrapping her arms around her from behind and resting her chin atop her head. “What are—” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Missed you.” Chell replied, cutting her off. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS hummed in approval. “Missed you too, cara mia,” She replied, typing away at her keyboard. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Chell smiled to herself, “I went on a little scavenger hunt.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What for?” GLaDOS asked, absentmindedly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“To figure out what that meant.” Chell said, a self-satisfied </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GLaDOS flushed red and turned around to meet Chell’s eyes. She sputtered for a moment before turning her swivel chair back around. “I hate you so much, </span>
  <em>
    <span>cara mia</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” The words rolled off her tongue with no real weight or malice behind them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, too.” </span>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>I actually wrote this like a year ago I just revised the crap out of it lmao</p></blockquote></div></div>
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